A device requesting data can modify its requests based on the current network traffic. For example, if a device detects heavy network traffic, the device can modify its request for less data than the device would otherwise request. A problem with this approach is that each device must be able to monitor current network traffic and modify its own data requests accordingly. A server device may also respond to a request for data with an error code, such as a Hypertext Transfer Protocol (HTTP) 503 error code, rather than delivering the requested data to the device. A problem with this approach is that the device is prevented from learning the reason the requested data cannot be delivered and the server is prevented from delivering even a subset of the requested data. These and other problems are addressed by the present disclosure.